By Means of Bonds
by ShadyEarlGrey
Summary: 【Seeing herself randomly in the Shinobi World of Fiction without a trace of clues, Minami found herself in two predicaments. 1: How to get home? 2: In the end, does she wants to stay?】 【Fan-Fiction Novel】 【Realistic as possible.】 【Warning: Language & SI!OC】
1. Chapter 1

She didn't know where she was at when her eyes opened to an unfamiliar ceiling. The area around her chest and rib cage ached like hell, and her body seemed too stiff to move. It was as if she hadn't moved in a long while – the girl thought. The soft pitter patters of the rain clunked heavily upon the metallic ceilings, and wherever she was at smelled a bit stale with a thick air of humidity in it. It made her lungs breathed them in slowly as if she has some sort of smoking problem. The girl craned her neck.

On her side was an opened, dull green box that has medical supplies in them. Underneath the first air appeared to be some sort of light green mat that extended towards the stone-like and cracked walls.

Was this place some sort of village in the countryside of Europe? The girl wondered. But then, she remembered that she hadn't been to Europe or Asia for a few years now. So why exactly was she here in an unknown place, and not the safety of her city in America?

Without straining her painfully, stinging torso; the girl clenched her teeth and groaned as she tried to bend her knees. Then she used her elbows to push herself up. "Chee…!"

'God damn, that hurts!' She panted heavily, albeit somehow managed to sit straight up. Shakily, her arm moved to touch her chest, only to find that it was garbed in moist bandages and not her actual shirt. She flinched and her breath hitched. A sense of dread crawled from the core of her gut to the underneath of her skin. It brought a horrific chill down her spine, afraid to see what had happened to herself and why she was like this. 'Oh, god. Please, please don't let it be like this….' Hesitantly, she looked down.

Wrapped around her shoulders and her entire mid-section were those gauges stained with dark red blood. Why… Why was she bleeding..!? Did she get into some sort of accident or – or maybe someone stabbed her? The girl couldn't remember. No matter how hard her mind tried, she just could not remember! Her family, her friends, her school; where were they!? She tried to speak, but the breathlessness and parched throat stopped her from doing so. Could she get up? No, it hurt too much! Where was the person who owned this place? Who was—?

The door creaked from behind her, but her body throbbed too much for the girl to look back.

"You shouldn't be up!" A woman's voice shouted, followed by heavy footsteps.

The girl saw a lady with long, blue-colored hair that parted on the middle and slanted dark brown eyes. She appeared to be Japanese from her face, eye and body shape with somewhat tan skin. But how was able to understand Japanese? That was what the girl was wondering as she felt the woman's hands urged her back down. She just couldn't think straight at the moment. Was this woman her savior? Why was she in Japan? And which part of Japan was this? "W, water…" The pre-teen croaked. Her breathing was heavy to the point that it sounded like she was loudly heaving. The woman slowly helped her drink from a glass cup, which felt oh so great!

The freshness of the cold, pure water! It was like jumping into a cool pool in a very hot and sunny day – relieving the girl of any discomfort and thirst from dehydration. She coughed and panted with an, ah.

"…Thank you…." She stared at the woman with grateful eyes; finally, the brunette could now talk.

"Are you feeling any pain, right now?" The lady, who appeared to be in her late twenties, furrowed her brows and frowned. "I have some pain killers and some broth for you to drink. What is your name?"

The girl sighed from the wave of exhaustion, so she closed her eyes and muttered, "Ren. Ren Phuong. Who are you?" Ren questioned. She didn't want to be left in the dark, especially after being saved from this really nice lady. Like, could someone give a golden metal for her selflessness? Maybe it was just her sleep thinking, but it really could be a good moment for this, right now. Ren listened closely to the alto voice as she slowly gave into sleep. "My name's Tsunami. Can you tell me what happened? Who hurt you and why?" Miss Tsunami's tone sounded very worried and scared, Ren duly noted. The sleepiness was making her feel lazy. Or was it nonchalant? She didn't know. The girl was too tired to care, but…

"I...cannot remember..." Feeling her breaths slowing to an even pace, Ren gave into the dreamless slumber and away from the agony and pain. "I don't know… Can't remember… Where's family - and friends….?"

* * *

The next time Ren woke up, it was somewhat brighter outside, given that the rain has stopped and it was now only cloudy today for wherever she was at. She realized that the pain she felt yesterday was now dulled down to a slight sting or ache. Ren wasn't sure how to describe these pains since this was her first time, excluding her vigorous sports and activities. Although hesitantly, she contrived to sit up, again; yet instead shuffled on her butt towards the Genkan. There were a few pairs of slippers and her Hunter boots at the end of the right side; her bag on what she assumed were the tatami mats above it. Did Miss Tsunami go through her things? Ren wasn't sure, but at least, she was thankful to still have her stuff.

Scooting to the end, the girl stepped into the slippers before she shuffled her way towards the door.

Her body movements seemed to be very sluggish and numbing as if she was extremely low on energy. Ren leisurely grabbed the door handle and swung it open. From what her ears perceived, the slight clanks of kitchenware and chopping could be heard down the hallway, where a small flight of stairs leads to the so-called kitchen. Ren followed the noises. Knowing that she's in good hands and that she'll live, the girl's mood lifted up tremendously from the shock that she had pulled the day before today.

She walked like a penguin down the five steps and stood on top of the wooden floor.

It was like the room Ren was in before with the actual floor and the Genkan, only that the concrete Genkan here has a dinner of eight chairs on the center and the counters with the kitchen stove and sink up against the walls. Miss Tsunami was chopping up vegetables alone in this house. Ren cleared her throat after she found no not-so-awkward-way to get the lady's attention. Tsunami whipped her head towards the girl in shock. "M, morning…" Ren tried not to fidget under her gaze.

"You're awake." Tsunami rushed to her side. She helped the girl down and got her to sit on the closest chair. "That's good. I was pretty worried when you didn't wake up for the past few days—"

"—wait, what…?"

"But I'm glad to see that your body is healing well." Tsunami smiled happily before she headed back to the kitchen section. "I'll go warm up some broth and get water for you. Do you still feel any more pain?"

"A little." Ren lightly touched her wound, too scared to press and feel any pain. She wondered what had happened. "Um, can you tell me what kind of injury this is?"

Thanking for the warm water, the girl drank it slowly as it soothed her parched throat. It has been sounding very ugly and like an old lady this whole time. She grimaced at her death-like cough. Tsunami answered, "I stitched up a big gash on your chest and found out that you heavily bruise the lower three ribs of your ribcage. You said that you didn't remember what happened, right?" Ren said no, making the woman hummed in suspicion. Maybe it was because of trauma that Ren went through, which made her forgot about the entire incident? Otherwise, if it was amnesia, Ren wouldn't have been able to remember her name at the least. "Well, that's odd."

"It is." Nodding, the girl agree. She asked a question before she sipped some water. "Sorry to bother you about this, but can you tell where we're at? I don't remember such a place like this before…"

Which was true; however, Ren did not have the heart to mention how poorly developed this village in Japan was possible done. After all, Japanese people were known for the technology and scientific achievements. There should be some more, but the girl couldn't remember them all. She wasn't that into the other country's culture, other than the basics. Looking around, Ren noticed that there was a lone picture hanging next to the stairway, and it was ripped where a missing person was at. On the other hand, this picture seemed to be familiar for some reason, too. "The Land of Waves."

"Hu-!?" Ren choked on her water.

Thanks to the injury, hitting her chest to ease the fit would be a huge no-no, but… "The Land of Waves!?" Ren landed her wide eyes on the woman's back. Miss Tsunami had to be kidding! There was no such thing of the Land of Waves, other than the anime that her older brother and sisters used to watch. Calming herself, the girl tried to reason. Maybe she was only joking around or something – she thought. But then, what kind of person like Tsunami would joke… "Uh…" Sneaking a nervous glance at the lady, the urge to ignore the confrontation made her pause for a while. She forced herself to talk. "You're not playing around or pranking me, right….?"

"What do you mean?" Tsunami blinked with a confused expression.

The Phuong didn't know how to react or feel about this. It was like it froze as it tried to protect her from something, something that she wouldn't like to experience or go through. Ren wasn't sure, but honestly, she was really worried and scared. How was she supposed to approach this situation? Should she ask questions about…? Oh. Holding the cup between her hands, the girl stared into the water's reflection. She realized that she was holding her breath, although Ren didn't have the guts to breathe. "…Um, can you – does anyone else live in this house, with you?"

Thankfully, Tsunami let it slide, much to her relief. She was cooking something that Ren wasn't sure of. "Yes," the lady answered, "my son, Inari, and my dad lives with me. They should be at the bridge right now."

"…Oh." Wide, brown eyes lingered on the liquid. Many thoughts were going through her head as she tried to sort things out. Like what was going on? How did she get here? How in the world could this place exist?

This was bad. This was like for real, like really bad.

Ren's respiratory was shallow and painfully dawdling. There were too many how's and what's in her mind. So many questions but no answers to satiate her increasing curiosity.

But all she knew that she was in the Naruto-verse.

* * *

 **Does not own the Manga/Anime, but the OCs and future drawing belongs to me.**

 **In need of Editor/Beta Reader! Thank you for reading! Please, Like/Comment/Critic!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay." Ren chewed on her thumbnail. She got to think of something! Any solution will be fine! "If I was a stereotypical fangirl, what will I do? Ninja? No - I'm already too late for that. Maybe... Should I find a way home? Wait it out? I don't even know how I got here."

The young girl tapped her pencil against her notebook. Somehow, time seemed to fly by so fast when you sleep, eat, and draw all day. Tsunami and Tazuna refused to let her work, and Inari did his best to watch her from a corner or the crack of a door. Like right now, that little shit. Ren threw him a nonchalant glower.

"Can you just sit like a normal person?" The brunette asked.

Inari opened the door wider, frowning. "Well, you're a creep! What kind of normal person talks to herself and stare at the ceiling all day!" He pointed a finger. "And get out! Because of you, my gramps and mom might be in danger."

Ren pretended to yawn. Even though it bothered her, it was what it was. She got injured and they decided to help her. "No." She held back a smirk, watching as Inari shimmer in anger with flushed cheeks. After all, Ren still wanted to repay them for saving her life... Plus, she wanted to see if this was true - the Team 7 and the Bridge Arc with Zabuza Momochi and all.

"Get out." Inari bawled his fists.

"No."

"Get out!" Ren nonchalantly flipped a page.

"I gotta take a dump."

"I said - ew, I didn't need to _know that_!" The child recoiled in disgust.

Ren sighed. "Inari, can you just tell me what you want today?" The girl tilted her head with tired eyes. Even though she had two older sisters and an older brother of her own, Ren never had a younger brother nor sister before. Which it was a huge pain in the ass. 'Was I always like this, too?' She thought.

Inari pulled down his hat a bit, fidgeting under her gaze. "Gramps expect you to start helping him out with the bridge-."

"-and I already know that," She spoke flatly. Ren chewed on her pencil. Tazuna allowed Ren to help with the construction since her father owned a small construction and landscape business. He asked, 'Where's he at?' 'I don't know.' Ren tried to keep a straight face. "Your mom said that I'm almost good to go, so I need to wait for a few more days before I go with grandpa Tazuna."

"He's thinking about leaving to get ninja from the Land of Fire."

At this, Ren perked up in interest. Without missing a beat, she asked, "how soon?"

The boy shrugged, and he kicked the floor with his head hung low. She would have comforted him - if that was one of her skills, so Ren sat there and hoped for the best. 'What an asshole thought.' Side-glancing, the girl internally sweat-dropped. She felt less like a human today. Inari interrupted her reverie. "Don't know. Grandpa doesn't have enough money, so he's trying to get more before he leaves."

'Just how far is he with the bridge,' nervous sweat slid down her neck, 'I remember that it should be half-way...'

"How far is gramps with the bridge?" Trying to calm her racing heart, she did her best to remain stoic.

It was like kids could smell fear. Fear and anger were what Ren thought. They would keep a close eye on you, and watch you through every crooks and cranny. Maybe it was just her imagination. Ren fought the urge to rub her neck. Because other than the only youngest family member under her auntie's wing, Inari was the only kid she got close to. "Is he, at least, half-way yet?" She asked after the prolong silence.

Thankfully, the boy shook his head, which meant that she still had time.

* * *

"Oi, Inari." Ren waved him over. Almost two and a half months had passed since that day, and now, the girl was up and going as Tazuna's little helper. She'd help cook and clean around the house. It was her break time; today, Ren discovered a really beautiful thing in her book bag. Inari sat on the block of planks and said, "what?"

She took out a handful of candies. They were small and protected by green wrappers.

Ren gave him a shit-eating grin, opening one for him. "I looked through the side pockets of my bag, and I found a lot of melon candies in there." Saliva built up in her mouth. The tangy scent of caramelized melon reached both of their noses. Inari gulped, eyeing the green ball as if an exotic specimen.

"You had candy before?" Inari shook his head, which made Ren deadpanned. "Well, that's a personal problem."

"Shut up."

"Don't be rude to your elders."

Eating it, Inari jumped at the sudden bursts of flavor. "It's so good!" He beamed.

Ren nodded and watched as Tazuna approached them and sat down. His shoulders were more slump than they usually were with a layer of sweat covering his entire body. He smelled bad, but then, Ren smell just as bad as he did. She tilted her head lower to look at Tazuna's face, which appeared more grave than usual. "What's wrong?" Ren asked worriedly.

Tazuna shook his head and pinched his nose bridge. "Another guy quit. If this keeps up, then we'll never get this bridge done to save this village."

Ren sat there and watched him. She didn't know how to comfort a guy, given that any ideas and thoughts went poof just like that. What was she supposed to say? How could she encourage him to keep going? Ren stared at Inari with some hope that he got a plan. However, the boy avoided the subject with downcast eyes.

Crap.

"Are you...planning to go to the Land of Fire?" The brunette asked some time later.

Tazuna grunted. "Yeah, although I don't have enough money, I got a plan when I get there." The two children raised their eyebrows. "In a few days, I'm going to be gone for a while." He ruffled Inari and Ren's head. "So-."

"No, you shouldn't go!" Inari shouted. The boy slapped Tazuna's hand away and recoiled. "It's-!?"

"Inari." Ren stood up, causing Inari to flinch. She rested a hand on his shoulder and flashed a thumbs up. Her face expression true seriousness and blank as a canvas. "Don't worry. Big sister Ren will make sure gramps is safe during the trip."

"...Big..sister." For some reason, the expression on Inari's face looked dry and chipped. "I don't think so."

This little shit. One day, the girl might just push him off the dock. Ren forced a smile as she pulled on Inari's cheeks. Tazuna crossed his arms. "You're not coming, Ren. It's too dangerous."

The brunette gave him a stink eye. "Sorry, but I'm going." Ren copied his posture. "You saved my life, so I'm staying by your side. I can understand that Inari shouldn't go because he's still a kid."

"You're a kid, too." Inari intervene.

"And your opinion is invalidated." Ren covered his mouth, ignoring the disgusting warm tongue and saliva. He tried to thrash and yank her hands off, but to no avail, her grip was inhumanely strong. She continued, "I'm almost thirteen, so I'm basically almost a real teenager. I can take responsibility."

Tazuna bore holes at the pre-teen hard for what seemed like an eternity. He sighed. There was no way he could convince Ren to stay. Throughout the past months with her, this girl had always been really hard-headed...and insensitive. The risk was extremely high for this journey, and if anything happened during that time, Ren would have been as good as dead. And it would be his fault.

The old man sighed once, again. Ren was looking at him with such high expectations.

Her almost, brown eyes that were too big to be called a native citizen of this continent, her straight dark hair that parted in the middle with blunt ends, and her round-like jawline - Ren may look like a very cute and innocent girl with her soft-spoken voice, but her personality were mine coals. She would not take nonsense as an answer, whether it came to being extra careful in the village to the cashier bartering for a high price.

"Fine, I got it. I got it." Scratching his head, Tazuna looked away.

Somehow, he knew he'd regret this.

* * *

"Holy crap." After two weeks of traveling, Ren marveled over the enormous walls that surrounded Konohagakure. The walls were made out of wood and stone, and if she squinted her eyes a bit more, she could see a few bodies watching them from above. In front of the opened gates were two guards, garbing the Konoha's uniform.

Tazuna urged Ren forward as he gave the permission paper to some Chuunin.

Excluding the enormous trees, the organized rows of stores and apartments burst with life as they tried to evade some of the civilian's way. They were also given a temporary map, where it showed all the three rows and columns of division that did a half-circle around the Academy. "This place is huge!" The brunette lagged close to the old man. Her eyes trailed to jumping figures on the rooftop. There was even a team chasing after an orange tabby cat.

Right when Ren opened her mouth, Tazuna interjected, "we can look around after we submit a request."

"Heck yeah!" The brunette grinned widely, springing with each step.

* * *

Once they walked through the enormous village, Ren and Tazuna finally reached their destination, the Academy. She couldn't help but to, "oh," and, "ah," at everything that looked familiar. The brown fence that surrounded the academy, the one lone swing attached to a tree, and the red facility with the kanji on the sign - Ren ran up to the swing and sat on it. She breathed heavily.

"This is so cool!" The girl squealed. She rocked back and forth for a minute before she caught up to Tazuna, who was currently drinking cheap sake from a liquor store he bought it from.

The inside smelled like how a school was supposed to smell, and Ren couldn't help but to touch everything in sight. The Japanese-like door, the smudged windows - there was even a kunai laying randomly on the ground of which she poked. Tazuna didn't let her keep it.

And after the flights of stairs, they stopped at a worn double door, which had two ANBU members standing in front. "State your business." The right one asked, eyeing Ren hard.

She was staring at him or her with big, adoring eyes. "Holy crap..." Ren whispered. Her heart raced wildly. It has been so long since she been in a lively place like this. There was no misty days or constant worry for any gangster to ambush them. No struggle with food or money. But this ANBU though. She remembered back when Ren was a bit younger, the girl wanted to be an ANBU meanwhile her siblings didn't care.

They just liked the anime, and one of her sisters liked Sasuke very much.

'Now that I mention it, I wonder what they're going right now...' Ren waited at the office until grandpa came back. It turned out that they have to wait in the waiting room until someone accepts the mission, and since it was only early morning, Ren could get something to eat and maybe go try out some food...

...If they weren't so broke.

Slouching on the chair, Ren sighed heavily.

It has been a while since she could eat what she wanted, and she lost a good deal of weight because of her dietary. No more junk food. No more sweets and Starbucks coffee that her older sister used to buy for her. The girl hugged her legs and sighed once again.

She missed it a lot..

And in order to keep her mind away from negative thoughts, Ren drew on her new cheap notebook that Tazuna purchased and sung songs under her breath. Tazuna kept her preoccupied with talking about the bridge's structures and what was there to do.

The next thing they knew, it was early afternoon and someone accepted their requests.

Clenching her notebook, her shallow breaths, and racing heart made nervous sweat slid down her neck. The hot weather of Konohagakure didn't help so either; instead, they made it worse. She walked down the hallway, rigidly. "Gramps," Ren exhaled, "can you stop drinking for now? You don't want to leave a really bad impression with our employees."

"No way. I haven't drunk for months." The old man grunted.

* * *

 **Does not own the Manga/Anime, but the OCs and future drawing belongs to me.**

 **In need of Editor/Beta Reader! Thank you for reading! Please, Like/Comment/Critic**


	3. Chapter 3

Standing in front of a door, the desire to walk the heck out of the place seemed so tempting... Ren gulped as she fidgeted next to Tazuna. Inside the office, some kid's shouts muffled through the wooden door in a very bratty manner. 'This guy's probably Naruto,' Ren concluded. She peered up to her old man, who was too busy drinking away, without a care in the world.

"Who!? Who!? A Feudal Lord!? A Princess!?"

Tazuna and Ren snorted.

"I can't believe we got some dumb brat." He wiped the dribbling sake and sighed.

The girl shrugged, trying to act nonchalant, as she bore holes at the door. "Yeah, he is an idiot." Ren agreed. "But idiots are hard to kill, so he's all right."

"Hey," the Hokage's voice resonated; a hint to the bridge builder and his _granddaughter_ , "will you come in here?"

Tazuna slid open the door. In the middle of the room, three children and an adult male craned their necks towards the two clients. Immediately, Ren blinked before she froze. The first thing that came into mind when she saw them was that 'they're like a circus trio.' Naruto Uzumaki, who was the shortest, had blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a somewhat tan skin. From what she could tell, his skin was a bit dull from the lack of proper nutrition and his posture looked pretty bad; however, it wasn't as bad as Sasuke Uchiha's. His shoulders were hunched forward and he had a stoic look on his well-organized face. Sasuke had spiky black hair, slanted onyx eyes, and fair skin. Ren's first impression of him would be that Sasuke had some major depression issues _if_ she didn't know him.

The thing that stood out like a sore thumb was Sakura Haruno's pastel _pink_ hair!

Her face is pretty, and her body seemed to be slimmer than Ren's. Brown eyes landed on Sakura's jade ones, which were slightly bigger than the Uchiha with long lashes. They all wore the same clothes that Ren remembered from the television show and Kakashi… She glanced at him. He just looked like a typical Kakashi Hatake. Shoulders slouching forward, a lazy dark gray eye, Konoha uniform, and the signature headband placement—if you observed his face carefully, you could tell that he had some potential handsomeness. They were all chinks, though. Involuntarily, Ren touched her eyes.

She stuck out like a sore thumb. Like, if you threw her into the Philippines or some country in Europe, she'd blend right in.

"What's this?" Tazuna raised a bored brow. Taking a swig, he leaned on the doorframe. "They're all a bunch of super brats, especially the shortest one with the great stupid-looking face." Everyone stared at him in silence, as Ren grabbed his arm. With her eyes narrowed, the girl conveyed that he was being rude, which made him grunt for a moment and then examine the ninja team. The blonde one's eyebrows were twitching. Meanwhile, Naruto glanced between his teammates.

"Ha, ha… who's the shortest one with the stupid face…?" Sakura and Sasuke took a step closer. They were smiling, emptily, as they stared at their teammates in irony. Naruto, who was sweating bullets, growled and launched forward, "I'll kill you!"

Kakashi grabbed him by the collar. It was then when Ren noticed that the Genin was staring at her, eyes filled with curiosity and appraisal. Were they judging her? Maybe thinking that she was some runt or whatever thoughts that would most likely insult her? She stood stiffly. It was kind of scary and exciting at the same time to stand in front of the main characters, who were now so humane. Ren knew about their future and abilities, and she knew that if she ever got caught, then Ren was as good as dead. How should she greet them? Act cheerful and preppy? Tsundere-like or BA? Feeling her brain shut down then, Ren automatically cleared her throat and bowed. "I'm Ren, just Ren. Pleased to meet you."

'Holy crap!' She imagined herself panic in her mind. 'They're staring at me!'

"I am the super expert bridge builder, Tazuna. I expect you to provide my granddaughter and me great protection until we get back to our country and complete the bridge."

Kakashi straight his back. "Understood." He turned towards his students. "We will leave in twenty minutes, so pack your things and meet us at the village's gate. Disperse."

When Team 7 chakra-jumped out of the only opened window, Ren gaped at the incredible speed they demonstrated. "Woah!" She ran towards the window, ignoring the Sandaime and Kakashi. From where the office located, jumping from there should be an instant death! It was like four stories high here! Jumping, the girl squealed. "That's so awesome! I want to learn that."

Lord Sandaime chuckled as he lit a pipe. "You'll need to become a ninja too, if you wish to learn that..." He slowly blew out the smoke. As Ren stood there with a tight smile, her eyes blinked repeatedly. There was something odd from the way his eyes bore holes through her. Her stomach sunk and churned, making the lump in her throat bobble when she swallowed. What was going on? she thought. Could it be that he sensed something off about her since she was not from this world? The Hokage smiled, showing the rows of wrinkles on his stained and tan face. He stroked his gray goatee and continued, "I think you'd make a great kunoichi if you put your mind and heart into it."

"... Oh, I see!" Beaming, the brunette hugged her arms on the small of her back, scared to her wits.

For some reason, there was a bad feeling in her gut. Ren still kept her smile plastered on as she skipped towards Tazuna. Acting like a happy chipper right when she introduced her persona as a detached person? Internally, Ren wanted to kill herself. She was talking to a ninja, a professional killer who could see through her façade! She betted that the Sandaime knew that Ren was nervous.

"Let's go, gramps." The brunette stayed close to the old man as they exited.

God, she hoped that they didn't see her as a threat.

* * *

"Gramps!" Ren waved happily, smiling dazzlingly, as she approached the gigantic gate. The whole Team 7 were there, and each and every one of them looked as if they'd waited enough for the stunt she'd just pulled. Tazuna glowered and sighed. He rested his hand on his hip and asked, "and where have you been!? We've been waiting for almost twenty minutes for you!"

"Yeah! Don't go wasting our time, you know!" Naruto pointed a finger at her.

She laughed sheepishly but pulled out a bag of goodies. "Sorry, sorry, I saw that there was a sale going on, so I had to get something! Oh, Gramps, did you know that there's this superb pub that gambles with a lot of Ryo!?"

"Oh!?" Tazuna perked, as he peeked into the plastic bag. There were a few things that looked like candy, some vegetables, and canned food. The man whistled. "You must have bartered them good to get all of this…"

"Yup!" Pumping her chest forward, the brunette stuck her nose up and grinned triumphantly. "Since there was this sale going on nearby Tea Avenue, I got the cashier to get it down to ¥2500 Ryo! It doesn't help him at all because there were a lot of other women in-line, and I made sure to hold it up as we barter and riled all the customers in there!" Ren flashed a thumbs up. "I was so close to losing, but don't worry, I fake cried and got the lovely ladies to throw an even bigger fit! Ha, ha, ha, ha—victory is ours!"

"Wait, what?" Sakura blinked.

The Team 7 gaped at Ren with their jaws slackened. She was so quiet and _meek_ when they first met. How could that—?

"What a greedy person…" Naruto uttered. Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi agreed nodding slightly at the ecstatic clients.

* * *

How many hours had it been? Minutes? Seconds? Ren stretched as she yawned. It was hot and partly cloudy this day, and again, she saw nothing but trees and dirt for the past few days if you included the travel to Konoha. Sakura walked beside her, glancing glances at Sasuke, and Naruto was too busy thrumming in thought about something. Brown eyes landed on the Uchiha. He strolled in front of them with his hand in his pockets. Ren hummed a song she recollected—Stronger Than You by Undertale. "Ren, right?" Sakura hugged her arms and smiled. "If you don't mind me asking… how old are you?"

"I'm twelve." Ren blinked; then grinned. Finally, something to do. "How about you? Why did you want to be a shinobi, Sakura?"

The Haruno paused, not before she sent a timid glimpse at Sasuke, who was clearly listening, and said, "I wanted to become a shinobi, um… Do you have someone you _like, like_?"

"No." Ren deadpanned, which made Sakura almost tripped forward. 'Eh!?' A pink eyebrow twitched. Ren put a hand up. "I totally understand if you don't want to tell me about it. I'm just being polite by asking."

"Hm, why did Sakura become a shinobi?" Naruto jumped into the conversation. He rubbed his chin and stared at the kunoichi. But then, he grinned and jabbed a thumb at himself. "Anyways, I want to be a shinobi, so I can be strong and protect myself. That way, people will come to respect me when I become Hokage! I'm going to be the best shinobi, believe it!"

"When pigs sprout wings and fly," the bridge builder added, "when pigs sprout wings and fly."

Naruto growled, glaring blue eyes at Tazuna. "Shut it, old man! I'm prepared to do anything to become Hokage! Once I become Hokage, you will acknowledge me!" He directed an index finger at Tazuna. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki! Believe it!"

'What's that!?' Snapping her head up, Ren jumped, whipping her head around.

For some reason, she thought that she forgot something, and it has been nagging in the back of her head for a while now. The brunette, narrowing her eyes sharp, slowly looked around. 'There's something I'm forgetting...' Rubbing her jawline, she wondered. 'But what? There's the c-rank admission, Tazuna, and—Dear God...'

Chills shriveled down her spine as Ren observed the dirt path. They had been walking for hours now, yet no signs of puddles were seen. When would they attack? Why didn't Ren grab the kunai on the floor back at the Academy!? But most importantly, Kakashi was lagging from the back, acting as casual as ever. She would feel safe around him if it wasn't for the fact that he'd ' _die_ ' by the enemy's chains.

Naruto got scared and—

"What!?" A ringing of zooms and whirls resonated reached her ears. Ren jerked her head towards the noise, which belonged to the all too familiar scene.

"One down."

"Kya—!" Sakura screamed.

With the two yanking the chains, Kakashi's eye bulged wide before his body shredded into flesh and pieces. It was like watching a horror movie, which probably became the reason Ren was only frozen solid—stiff. Her chest quivered, but her stomach seemed as strong as steel. Was she scared? Yes! What should she do? What should she do!?

"Kakashi!" Naruto trembled.

Ren watched as the two chuunin-nins dashed towards Naruto. Their chain, which looked as wide as an average fist, retracted and expanded. "Naruto...!" She breathed, unable to think clearly. The only thing that whirled in her head was that—even though she'd witnessed such a thing as real as this in a movie, it was unfortunate that the genin never saw such a feat.

What a stupid thought...

Sweat slid down his face profusely as Sasuke lowered his stance, furrowing his eyebrows. He jumped high into the air pulled out a kunai and shuriken. 'Sasuke...' Ren blinked her wide, brown eyes. Just like the show, the Uchiha expertly executed his counter attack. Landing on the restrained arms, he held onto those same arms as he kick both of the assassins' heads.

'W-wow.' Naruto gazed in awe.

Hearing a loud metallic sound, the brunette's breath hitched when they zoomed in separate directions. What felt like an eternity was only mere milliseconds, Ren yanked a kunai from Sakura's holster and scurried forward. "Crap, Naruto!" She shouted, breathlessly and afraid.

Everything felt so surreal...

Her insides were jittery. Her heart pumped heavily. He was going to get hurt. He was too scared!

She had to do it... She had to do it!

'Naruto!' Diving as high up as Ren could, the girl landed her stomach on his arm meanwhile the kunai lodged into his neck, splattering dark red blotches of blood. Her vision was black for a moment. It wasn't deep, but the knife managed to dig in a quarter deep, piercing through the protection cloth. She panted. She was hyperventilating. Scary. So scary and _real_! Saucer-like brown eyes filled with terror and drive, Ren gasped when the arm swung and tossed her away.

"Ren!"

Crashing onto the ground, the brunette rolled and skidded to a halt. She didn't feel any pain, thanks to the adrenaline, but exhaustion paraded down her body. Numbly, she craned her neck to see that Kakashi stood with two bodies in his arms. It was the enemies. Ren breathed in relief. They all were safe, now...

"Ren!" Tazuna rushed to her side and helped her up. He searched around for any injuries. "Are you hurt? Do you feel any pain!?" The man held her face between his hands, face filled anger and worry. "Why did you do something as reckless as that!?" He yelled. "Are you trying to get yourself killed!?"

"S-sorry..." Ren managed to utter, looking away in a daze.

Now that she thought about it, why did Ren do that? Naruto was a jinchuuriki. He could heal himself without even knowing of it. She held her head. "Uh, why did I do it?" Ren rubbed her neck; everything still felt so numb, so distant. "I don't know. Everything was so... so scary, and Naruto... he."

Unaware to her, Team 7 grouped around the two.

The brunette appeared so confused. Her big eyes were staring at the abyss, having silent tears slide down her cheeks. Lifting her shaking hands, Ren rubbed her cheeks and bawled. "He—he was so scared! I couldn't think, I was so scared!"

Feeling a sudden warm body hug her, Ren looked up, expecting some sort of comfort from Tazuna, but... "Naruto?"

His small frame embraced her tightly. "I'm sorry I made you go through that..." With blonde bangs shadowing his eyes, Naruto bit his lip in shame and angst. "I was supposed to protect you! It's my job, but in the end, you ended up protecting me instead!"

Naruto clenched his fists, growling. "Why the hell am I always... damn it! I should be becoming stronger! So why...?!"

Flabbergasted, Ren watched as he withdrew and stared at her with determined, blue eyes. She blinked. Why was he looking at her like that!? "I'm never going to be saved ever, again. I'm not going to be afraid and try to run." He thumped a fist against his chest. "I swear on my ninja way, I will be the one protecting!"

Ren held her chest, feeling some weird tension against her breathing. Her face flushed red, and her eyes were broad, unblinking. She pushed him away and onto the floor.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted. "What was that for!?"

"Oh, sorry!" Smiling airily, the brunette rotated her arms, stood up, and dusted her clothes. "You comforting me gave me the chills, and I really do like my personal space." Ren extended a helping hand, grinning wide with a blush. "But if you're so keen on keeping that promise, then I'll be counting on you, okay?"

"On the scaredy cat?" Sasuke commented with a smirk. "Don't get your hopes up. He's nothing but an idiot."

"Why you...!?" Right when he thrust a fist forward, Sakura bonked him on the head.

"You idiot, don't hit Sasuke!" Sakura shouted, swinging a fist once again.

Ren laughed at their banter before she noticed the Jounin's gaze. By the looks of it, Kakashi was waiting for them to finish something, so he could intervene. "Mister Kakashi?" The brunette approached him. Tazuna seemed extremely fidgety right now, and the two chuunin-nins were tied up. Kakashi smiled by crinkling his eye at Ren afore he gazed at the bridge builder.

"Mister Tazuna," his dark gray eye grew cold.

"W-what is it!?" Tazuna gulped.

"I need to talk to you."

* * *

 **Does not own the Manga/Anime, but the OCs and future drawing belongs to me.**

 **In need of Editor/Beta Reader! Thank you for reading! Please, Like/Comment/Critic**


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